Machine for laying concrete paving and the like



May 27, 1924. 1,495,901

J. C.' FRENCH MACHINE FOR LAYING CONCRETE PAVING AND THE LIKE Filed July 18 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet I May 27 1924. J. C. FRENCH MACHINE FOR LAYING CONCRETE PAVING AND THE LIKE Filed July 18, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiventov" JCFflenQ 77 J. C. FRENCH MACHINE FOR LAYING CONCRETE PAVING AND THE LIKE May 27- Filed July 18, 1919 4 Sheets -Sheet 5 May 27, 1924. 1,495,901

J. C. FRENCH MACHINE FOR LAYING CONCRETE PAVING AND THE LIKE Filed July 18, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 JCEQ 72 (321/ mama m 27, 1924.

I 4 1,495,901. UNITED STATIESYPA'TYENT OFFICE.

.Inmsc. reun on, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY mnsmi ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro r o. aus'rm MACHINERY comrany, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

,FACHINE FOR LAYING CONCRETE .fAVilNG THE LIKE.

Application filed m 18, 1919. Serial No. 311,868;

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known'that I, JAMES C. FRENCH, ,a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Laying Concrete Paving and' the like, of which the following is a specification; p T

This invention relates to machines for use in laying concrete paving. The concrete is dumped on the street in front ofthe machine, and the latter then moves slowly forward to not only tamp down the concrete, but also to shape .and smooth the surface of the paving. In this way the work is expedited and the amountof manual labor required is considerably reduced.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved .tamping and smoothing machine of the foregoing general character.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general efficiency and the desirability of a tamping machine of this particular construction.

Another object is to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby the use of certain features of construction and modes of operation heretofore considered necessary are entirely obviated, or elimi-v nated;

To these and other useful ends the'invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan of a tampin'g machine embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said machine.

.Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 53 in Fig. 1. I

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the machine.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a pair of longitudinally disposed channel irons 1 which are spaced apart and provided with wheels 2 that travel on the upper edges of the temporary curbing .or mold members ,3 which are suitably positioned at the sides of the street, and between which the concrete paving is laid in the usual and well known manner. The transverse beams 4 and 5 have their ends provided with brackets 6 which reach under the channel beams .1, and which are adjustably supported thereon in any suitable manner. The beams 4 are connected by longitudinally disposed girders or structural members 7, which are disposed in the plane of the beams 4, and also by centrally located and longitudinally disposed beams 8 upon which are mounted the engine 9 and the winding drums 10, in the manner shown. A transverse shaft 11 is carried by the frame thus provided, in the bearings 12 on the sides of the beams or structural members 7, and is connected by a sprocket chain 13 with said engine, so that said shaft is driven at the desired speed during the operation of the machine. A suitable power-transmitting connection, including the sprocket chain 14, connects the shaft 11 with the winding drums 10, so that the latter are operated to operate the cables 15. which extend-around sheaves 16 on the ends of the longitudinal I-b'eams17, the latter being carried on the under side 'of the transversely arranged I- .beams 4 and 5, it being understood that these cables are usually attached to posts or other stationary objects ahead. of the machine, whereby the operation of the drums will pull the entire machine slowly forward. A front-transverse beam 18 is secured to the under sides of the beams 17, and a rear transverse beam 19 is similarly supported by the longitudinal beams 17, said beams 18 and 19 being preferably Lbeams, and beingby forwardly and rearwardly extending links or arms 22 and 23, which swing u and down, sothatsaid tampers are adapte to move 'up. and down freely. Toggles 24 connect the front tamper 20 with the structural members 7, and similar toggles 25 connect the rear tamper 21 with the structural members 7, whereby these toggle connections support the weight of the two tampers. The

' toggle joints of the toggle 24. are connected by pitmen 26 with the eccentric cams 27 on the shaft 11, and similar pitmen 28 connect the toggle joints of the toggles 25 with th similar eccentriccams 29 on said shaf.

These eccentrics,,it will be seen, are so set or arranged on said shaft that the front and a floating action as it trails behind on the surface of the paving. Springs 33 are interposed between the rear ends of the pivoted arms 31 and the rear ends of the beams 17, thereby to yieldingly hold the transverse beam down upon the surface of the aving. The beam 30 is preferably provided with a truss 34 to give it sufiicient stiffness, so that it will not bend or be flexed out of shape, and will accurately smooth and surface the concrete paving.

' It willbe seen that Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive are all on the same scale, which is a larger scale than that of Fig. 1. In Figs. 4 and 5 it will i also be seen that one side of the machine is broken away; and omitted for convenience of illustration. It will be understood, however, that 'the construction at the right, in Figs. 4 and 5, is the same as that shown at the left.

Itwill be seen that the body frame structure supported by the longitudinal channel irons 1 supports not only the tamping apgaratus, but also the engine and windi rums previously described, and that this entire structure can be raised and lowered by raising and lowering the brackets 6 relatively to the'beams 1, in any suitable or desired manner. For example, this can be accomplished by means of bolts 35 which conmeet said brackets 6 to the under sides of the beams 1. By loosening these bolts, the beams 4 and 5, and the body structure carried thereby, will be lowered. Set screws 36 may be provided and inserted downwardly through the beams 1 to engage the brackets 6, thereby to space the latter a fixed distance below the beams 1, so that the body structure will not rise when the front and rear tampers 20 and 21, and the front and rear beams 18 and 19, strike the concrete. Any suitable or desired arrangement, however, can 'be emplo ed for accomplishing ,this up and down a justment. By this adjustment, of course, the front ends of the beams 17 can be tilted upward, so that the front tamper 20 will be a little higher than the rear tamper, if this is necessary or desirable, and so that the front beam 18 will be a little higher than the beam 19, in a manner that will be readily understood.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The forms or side 3 having been placed in position, concrete is filled in between these members until it is' a little higher than the upper edges of said members. The engine 9 is then started, and the machine moves slowly forward, the front tamper 20 being the first to encounter the concrete, and serving the purpose of what may be called a roughing tamper, inasmuch.

of the tamped concrete is then removed by the beam 18, leaving the concrete below of uniform density. The tamper 21 is what may be called a smoothing tamper, and follows the beam 18 for this purpose, so that the concrete is again compressed and tamped down to further insure uniform density thereof The beam 19 follows behind the tamper 2. and is what may called a template beam, inasmuch as it is disposed in position and is of a form or shape to 've the paving a top surface of the require height and shape. Thus the concrete is first subjected to a tamping operation which prepares it for a preliminary smoothing or evening operation, to which it is subjected next, and is then'subjected to a final ta-mping action which gives it the required or uniform density and stability: and after that the template beam .19 determines the exact height and conformation of the top surface of the paving. Finally, of course, the beam 30, which may be called a float beam, slides smoothly over the surface of the concrete to make the said surface as smooth as possible, or as smooth as is necessary for work of this character. The front tamper 20 works in the; loose or rough concrete which overflows the tamper, of course, but the surplus materials are pushed ahead by the beam 18, in the manner described. Thus there is no attempt to smooth off or remove the uppermost portions or surplus concrete until after the tamping operation has been performed. The frpnt tamper 20 roughly or approximatelydetermines the height of the concrete paving,-- giving it a density which is substantially uniform, and leaving the rough or loose stuff resting on top to be pushed ahead by the beam 18, thus tending to insure against soft spots in the paving, which might occur where the practice is followed of smoothing the top and removing the surplus materials before the concrete is tamped, or as might result from other methods heretofore employed for this purpose. The two tampers work in unison, so that they strike the concrete simultaneously, which in not need any explanation.

some ways and for the purpose of the in-- vention is found to be preferable to the practice of causing one tamper to strike the concrete while the other is in a raised position, for when they operate simultaneously the impact of one tamper is counteracted or neutralized by the impact of the other. The

smoothing beam may be omitted, of course, and can be employed or not according to the requirements. The materials employed for the paving and the way in which the paving is laid down or constructed are matters which are well understood, and do Thus, the method employed, as explained, in laying the concrete paving, involves the dumping of the materials on the ground in a more or less rough and uneven manner, and the compression or compacting or tamping down of the materials thus loosely or roughly disposed upon the ground, so that the mass is rendered firm and solid before i 1 any attempt is made to trim or cutoff the top. With certain prior methods it was cus- L tomary to scrape ofi the rough top of the loose materials after they were dumpedon the street, to reduce the mass to the desired height or thickness, before compressing or compacting or tamping down the materials in any way, or to any extent, so that the tamping operation followed the smoothing and trimming operation by which the surplus materials were-removed from the top of the mass. This method resulted very often,

' of course, in a paving of non-uniform density, following the tamping, so that after the tamping operation the mass was not only somewhat lower than before, but was also still soft or loose in' spots. With the improved method herein 'shown and described,

however, the entire mass is tamped down into a hard and solid condition, and thereafter the surplus is cut orv scraped off the top, leaving the body of the mass with an even surface and with a uniform density, as the loose stufi at the top is continually 'worked into the mass by the front tamper as it moves forward through the rough or loose stuff at the top; thereby filling up the loose spots or vacancies in the mass. This would not be true, of course, if the rough stuff and surplus at the top were scraped ofl first, leaving a level or smooth top for the front tamper to work on, as in such case there would be no loose or surplus materialsto roll or tumble under the tamper from time to time, which is the case when the front tamper is.

arranged to move forwardin the loose or rough top portions of the materials, as rou hlydum ed on the street. Therefore, with the met 10d shown and described, the surplus materials at the top, or at least a considerable'portion thereof, are tamped down hard with the body of the mass which is to remain as thepavmg, or as the foundation for some sort of paving, and such surplus, after belng tamped or compacted, 1s then cut or scraped off by the transverse beam lmme- .diately in rear of the front tamper, leaving the mass hard and smooth or level at the top thereof, and of practically uniform density and firmness, so that the second tamping operation and the subsequent smoothing or surfacing operations are carried out with better results than would be the case if no vertically reciprocating or vibrating tamper were employed in front of the transverse beam 18, which is disposed in position to to give it the predetermined height or thick- HESS.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is initially trim and shape the top of the paving 1. In a machine for use in paving streets,

a body structure mounted to travel along above the paving materials, a roughing, tamp-, er to operate on the paving materials as roughly dumped on the street, mechanism for operating said tamper up and down on the rough materials, and instrumenta'lities said tamper to remove the surplus materials;

from the top of the tamped mass, and for shaping and smoothing the top surface ofthe paving, said instrumentalities including a transverse member which cuts off the topof the roughly tamped materials and pushes the surplus valong immediately behind said roughing tamper and a smoothing tamper operating in unison with said roughing tamper.

3'. In a machine for use in paving streets,

.21 body structure mounted to 'travel along, above the paving materials, a roughing vtamper to operate on the paving materials as roughlydumped on the. street, mechanism for operating said tamper up and'down on the rough materials, and instrumentalities following said tamper to' remove the surplus materials from the top of the tamped mass,

and for shaping and smoothing the top surface of the paving, said instrumentalities including a smoothing tamper operating in unison with said roughing tamper, and a template beam behind said smoothing tamper.

4, In a machine for use in paving streets, a body structure mounted to-travel along above the paving materials, a roughing tamper to operate on the aving materials as roughly dumped on t e street, mechanism for operating said tamper up and down on the rou h materials, and instrumentalities followin said tamper to remove the surplus materia s from the top of the tamped mass, and for shaping and smoothing the top surface of the pavin said instrumentalities including a smoot ing tamper operating in unison with, said rou hing tamper and a spring-pressed float eam, whereby the paving materials are first subjected to the action of said tampers and final- :ly to the action of said float beam.

. 5. In a machine for use in paving streets,

a body structure mounted to travel along above the paving materials, a roughing tamper to operate on the paving materials as roughly dumped on the street, mechanism for operating said tamper up and down on the rough materials, and instrumentalities following said tamper to remove the surplus materials from the top of the tamped mass, and for shaping and smoothing the top surface of the paving, said instrumentalities including a smoothing tamper, and said mechanism being constructed and arranged to operate the two tampers up and down in unison. I v

6. In a machine for use in paving streets, a front tamper for tamping down the rough mass of paving materia s, and a rear tamper behind the front tamper, 1 in combination with mechanism for operating said tampers up and down in unison.-

7. In a tamping machine, a tamper disposed in position to operate on the concrete or other materials, a body frame, a toggle'connection depending from the body frame to support the tamper, and laterally connected mechanism for operating said toggle connection to actuate the tamper up and down, said mechanism comprising an eccentric cam connected to the joint ofsaid toggle connection.

8. The method of mechanically laying concrete paving, comprising, tamping down of the materials as roughly dumped on the ground so that a solidly tamped mass is formed with a more or less uneven surface, thereafter trimming off the top of the roughly tamped mass so that the surplus is taken off and an even surface is formedafter the materials are tamped down into a firm mass, and again tamping the mass after said surplus is removed fromthe top thereof, said first and second tamping operations being performed in unison on di erent portions of the pavement.

crete paving, comprising, tamping down of the materials as roughly ground softhat. a solidly tamped mass is formed with a more or less uneven surface,

9. The method of mechanically laying condumped on. the 4 thereafter trimming of thetop of the roughly tamped mass so that the surplus is taken off and an even surface isformed after the materials are tamped down into a firm mass, and again-ta'mpin the mass after. said removal of the surp us, and a second smoothing operation after the second tamping said first and second tamping operations being performed inunison on different portions of the pavement.

'10. In a machine for use in laying con crete paving, the combination of a traveling body frame adapted to travel above previously deposited paving materials, means on said frame to compress the materials as roughly dumped on the ground, as the machine travels along, and means for cutting off the top of the compacted mass to remove the surplus and obtain an even surface.

11. A structure as specified in claim 10, in combination with means to again compact the mass, after the removal of said surplus, and means for thereafter smoothing the top of the said twice compacted mass.

12. In a tamping machine, a traveling body frame, a transverse tamp'ing beam below said frame, toggles to suspend the tamping beam on the said frame, a transverse shaft on said frame, means on said shaft to actuate said toggles at the joints thereof to raise and lower said tamping beam, and

means to hold said beam against forward or V backward displacement. I

13. In a tamping machine, the combination of a traveling body frame, a fixed transverse smoothing beam on said frame, a

tamper immediately in front of said beam,

a tamper immediately in rear of said beam, and mechanism to operate said tampers simultaneously up and down in unison.

14. The method of mechanically laying concrete paving, comprising, tamping own of the materials as roughly dumped on the ground so that a solidly 'tamped mass with a more or less uneven surface formed, thereafter trimming off the top of the roughly tamped mass so that the surplus is taken ofi and an even surface is formed after the materials are tamped down into a firm mass, and again tamping the mass after the removal 0 the surplus, and a second smoothing of the surface after said second tamping.

JAMES C. FRENCH. 

